Software:Super Ninja Boy

From HandWiki
Short description: 1991 video game
Super Ninja Boy
North American cover art
Developer(s)Culture Brain
Publisher(s)Culture Brain
Director(s)Yukio Tanaka
Composer(s)Akinori Sawa
SeriesSuper Chinese
Platform(s)Super Famicom/SNES
ReleaseSuper Famicom/SNES
  • JP: December 28, 1991
  • NA: 1992
Genre(s)Action RPG[1]
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Super Ninja Boy JPN is an action role-playing game released by Culture Brain for the Super Famicom in Japan in 1991, and the Super NES in North America in 1993. It features random encounters with side-scrolling battles, although some boss battles are fought with a traditional menu-based system. There are also a few platforming sections.

In single-player mode, the main character is Jack. The game can be switched between single player and multiplayer at will, with the second player controlling Ryu. Jack and Ryu share statistics, so one character never overpowers the other.

Super Ninja Boy features a password system to record progress.

It is a sequel to Culture Brain's previous title, Little Ninja Brothers for the NES and contains a few cameos from other Culture Brain's games.

Gameplay

Super Ninja Boy combines classic role-playing video game elements with action game elements. The player controls the main character Jack (or two players can control both Jack and Ryu) and randomly encounters enemies on the world map and in dungeons. In side-scrolling battles, the player can jump, punch, throw enemies, use items like shurikens or techniques such as the super jump or fireball. Battles take place in a beat'em up style and end after a specific number of enemies are killed (no matter how many are still remaining on screen). Boss battles are fought in a turn-based RPG style, using the same items and skills as normally.

There are also some 2D platform areas, which play the same as the normal battles without depth (the player can only go right or left).

Release and reception

Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Super Control11%[3]

Super Ninja Boy was released in Japan for the Super Famicom on December 28, 1991.[1] Culture Brain presented Super Ninja Boy at the 1993 Winter Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas[4][5][6] It received an English-language release by 1992.[7] It was shown again at the 1993 Summer CES held from June 3-6 in Chicago.[8] Reviewers from Super Play commented on the game at the display show saying it did not look great.[8] It was re-released only in Japan on the Wii U Virtual Console on October 1, 2014, followed by the Nintendo Classics service worldwide on January 24, 2025.[9]

In the Japanese magazine Famicom Tsūshin the reviewers found that the game did not really do much to separate itself from previous games in the Super Chinese series. One reviewer said the game was rough overall while another said the controls were poor and sluggish and there was not enough variety in the battle scenes.[1] In VideoGames & Computer Entertainment, Clayton Walnum said it was a "reasonably good action/role-playing game" that benefitted from the unique action fighting scenes making them "a little more tolerable, since it's not anywhere near as meticulous as the turn-oriented variety."[2] Walnum said the games weakness was the poor translation with phrases like "I got excited at him" being too low quality for an expensive product.[2] In the editor's corner of the magazine, other commentators briefly said the game overused the Mode 7 effects with two other reviewers saying the game combat brought the quality down and that it was a poorly programmed game respectively.[2] Super Control said that "everything about Super Ninja Boy is substandard" and that it was "easily one of the most uncomfortable games I've had the displeasure of playing in a long while." and found the game derivative of The Legend of the Mystical Ninja.[3]

Notes

^ Known in Japan as Super Chinese World (スーパーチャイニーズワールド, Suupaa Chainiizu Waarudo).

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named famitsu
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Walnum, Clayton (June 1993). "Video-Game Reviews". VideoGames & Computer Entertainment (United States: L.F.P. Inc.) 5 (6). https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/a67d77a1-16d6-4832-8d62-afb7c2e737f0. Retrieved September 26, 2025. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mallinson, Paul; Simmons, Alex (August 1993). "Super Ninja Boy". Super Control (United Kingdom: Maverick Magazines). 
  4. ↑ "Culture Brain". Electronic Gaming Retail News (Sendai Publications) 3 (11). January 1993. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/944ab4a6-cf72-44e8-9d9d-ddbcc341fb96. 
  5. ↑ "Next Wave". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publications) (4). April 1993. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/6177152a-41f9-4fe7-9b1b-122950d557af. 
  6. ↑ "Next Wave". Electronic Gaming Monthly (Sendai Publications) (4). April 1993. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/6177152a-41f9-4fe7-9b1b-122950d557af. 
  7. ↑ "Short Shots". GamePro 4. May 1992. https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/1b1bdeae-2824-4b8f-8c4b-124f7f99fb60. Retrieved September 26, 2025. "Available Now". 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Bielby, Matt (August 1993). "Chicago Calling". Super Play (United Kingdom: Future Publishing) (10). https://archive.gamehistory.org/item/6e7d3992-f6f0-426b-9b42-aa8af3ff14f9. 
  9. ↑ Romano, Sal (January 24, 2025). "SNES – Nintendo Switch Online adds Fatal Fury 2, Super Ninja Boy, and Sutte Hakkun". https://www.gematsu.com/2025/01/snes-nintendo-switch-online-adds-fatal-fury-2-super-ninja-boy-and-sutte-hakkun. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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